Tongue-support.



No. 674,452. Patented May 2|, 190i.

H. C. BURK.

TONGUE SUPPORT.

(Application filed Feb. 27, 1901.,-

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

HOLMES CONOVER BURK, OF BURLINGAME, KANSAS.

TONGUE-SUPPORT.

sPEGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,452, dated May 21, 1901.

Application filed February 27, 1901. Serial No. 19,106. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I,HoLMEs OoNovER BURK, acitizen of the United States, residing at Burlingame, in the county of Osage and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Tongue-Support, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in tongue-supports.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of tongue-supports and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to be readily mounted on the front portion of a running-gear and capable of supporting the tongue thereof in a horizontal position and of being readily adjusted to raise and lower the tongue.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of 'a running-gear provided with a tongue-support constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the spring-supporting plates. Fig. 4; is a detail view of one of the springs.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 l designate a pairof approximately L- shaped springs located at opposite sides of the tongue or pole 2 of a running-gear and mounted upon the front portion of the same, as hereinafter explained, and adapted to support the pole in a horizontal position to relieve the necks of the draft-animals of the weight of the same. The springs are composed of short upwardly-extending rear arms v3 and approximately horizontal forwardlyextending arms 4, and they are provided at the angles formed by the arms with rearwardly-extending spring-coils 5. The front ends of the arms 4: are bent downward at 6 to provide short angularly-disposed portions which terminate in eyes 7 for the reception of a transverse fastening device 8, preferably consisting of a bolt and arranged beneath and forming a support for the tongue or pole,

the angularly-bent portions 6 projecting upward at opposite sides of the pole and preventing lateral displacement of the tonguesupport. The transversely-disposed fastening device which connects the front ends of the springs is preferably located slightly in rear of the pivot of the doubletree. The upwardly-extending rear arms 3 terminate in eyes 9 for the reception of adjusting devices 10, consisting, preferably, of bolts provided at their front ends with heads and having nuts at their rear ends and passing through the spring-bolster 11. The rearwardly-disposed coils of the springs are supported by the axle and are received within lower cup-shaped portions 12 of plates 13. By this arrangement the springs which form resilient levers are fulcrumed at their angles and are adapted to be adjusted by the bolts or devices 10 for raising and lowering the tongue. When the bolts are drawn backward by the nuts, the tongue will be raised, and when the nuts are unscrewed the tongue will be lowered. The bolts which form the adjusting devices also serve as a means for attaching the plates 13, which are arranged vertically and which are provided at their upper ends with perforations 14: for the reception of the said bolts. The plates depend from the sand-bolster, and their lower portions are arranged on the front face of the axle and are curved transversely to form the lower cup-shaped coil receiving and supporting portions 12. The lower portions of the vertical plates maybe enlarged to form side flanges to provide pronounced sides for the cup-shaped portions, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

It will be seen that the tongue-support is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to be readily applied to a running-gear, and that it is capable of ready adjustment to support the tongue or pole at the desired elevation to relieve the necks of the draft-animals of the Weight of the said tongue or pole. It will also be apparent that the tongue-support will not interfere with the movements of the tongue and that the front portion of the tongue-support is held against lateral displacement by the angularly-bent front ends of the springs.

What I claim is-- 1. The combination with a running-gear,of the approximately L shaped springs fulcru med at their angles on the front portion of the running-gear at'a point below the tongue or pole and located at opposite sides of the same, means for connecting their front ends, said means forming a support for the tongue or pole and arranged beneath the same in ad- Vance of the pivot thereof, and the adjusting devices connecting the rear ends of the springs with the running-gear and adapted to raise and lower the pole or tongue, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a running-gear,of the approximately L-shaped springs extending vertically and horizontally and provided at their angles with rearwardly disposed coils, and fulcrumed thereat on the front portion of the running-gear at a point below the tongue or pole, means for connecting the front ends of the springs with the tongue or pole in advance of the pivot thereof, and adjusting devices connecting the rear ends of the springs with the running-gear, and adapted to raise and lower the tongue or pole, substantially as described.

lower a tongue or pole, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a running-gear,of L-shaped springs extending vertically and horizontally and located at opposite sides of the tongue or pole and having their front ends bent downward and provided with eyes, a transverse fastening device arranged in the eyes and extending beneath the tongue or pole in advance of the pivot thereof and supporting the same, said tongue or pole being arranged between the bent ends of the springs, whereby the device is held against lateral displacement, and

adjusting devices connected with the rear ends of the springs, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a running-gear, of a pair of approximately L-shaped springs having out- Wardly-extending coils at their angles and located at opposite sides of the tongue or pole,

a transverse tongue-supporting device 'con- HOLMES OONOVER BURK.

Witnesses:

F. B. NILEs, E. A. SWIsHnR. 

